


A Dustland Fairytale

by onlywordsnow



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Bakery AU, Bakery and Coffee Shop, F/F, F/M, Rivalry AU, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-02 05:57:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15790350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlywordsnow/pseuds/onlywordsnow
Summary: Nicole moves back to Purgatory to fulfill her destiny in the family business.  There's just one problem: she doesn't believe in this stupid rivalry she's expected to maintain.  Waverly, on the other hand, can't help but be neighborly.  After all, it is in her nature.





	1. the face that launched a thousand ships

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! The rival/coffee shop/bakery au that no one asked for.
> 
> So, this idea hit me and came at me fast. I wrote all of this glory in maybe 3 or 4 days. Imagine every awkward scenario you’ve wanted to see between two people who are being guided by their families, waging a war that no one even knows what it’s about anymore. 
> 
> Keep in mind this is a modern au, but it has that tragedy element that’s ultimately kicked in the ass by the romcom element.
> 
> Cheers!

A building stands tall off of Ninth Street, cattycorner to Main Street in a small Moncanada town of Purgatory amidst the Ghost River Triangle. In this town is an age-old rivalry dated back to its youth, a rivalry much different than some may even know. There is the one that everyone is quite familiar with, the rivalry between the Earps and the Clooties that can easily be found in the history of the town regarding their prolific farming and ranching capabilities.

 

However, there is the less widespread rivalry between the Clooties and the Gibsons.

 

It is no wonder that the Earp and Gibson lines intertwined along the way, banding against the Clooties in some bloodline war that has only managed to present something more bitterly than could be expected – especially for a nice girl like Waverly Earp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She is familiar with the rivalry herself, although she never much saw anything exactly wrong with the Clootie clan. In fact, if she remembers correctly, they were always quite lovely to her when she was in high school. The descendants of the Clootie line varied and, although a bit older than her, had branched out beyond the Ghost River Triangle, if Waverly’s heard correctly.

 

She doesn’t personally know any of them due to her family’s thick, unprecedented hatred for the Clooties, but she does hear about them quite often. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in the town knows everyone else which makes it terribly difficult to go anywhere at all without hearing a little bit of town gossip. Not to mention that her Mom and her Aunt Gus always have something to say about them and, even though not all of it is necessarily negative, the majority of it does sound like it isn’t any of their business.

 

Save for the part that their little shops are literally right next door to each other.

 

Waverly started working at _Gibson’s Bakery_ when she was 16, mostly just running the front end while Aunt Gus (and sometimes her mom) baked the treats back in the kitchen. After high school, while she took her classes at the college in the next city over, Uncle Curtis started insisting that she learn the recipes as well. Now she knows the entire menu like the back of her hand, even sometimes being the only one in the restaurant all day.

 

Still, she sees the Clootie family members cross in front of the store throughout the day often to relinquish a cup of coffee. Sometimes two. And she watches Lucado Clootie, who aggressively demands she be called Lucy, carry them towards the police station where her husband and step-son work. Waverly always wants to make small talk, even considers doing so, until she receives a pretty unprecedented glare through the front windows.

 

This is a problem for Waverly because she’s an extremely friendly person. She isn’t a spitfire like her mom or Wynonna, not in their way. She’s more of a smile and wave, nicest person in Purgatory sash type person. She has a really hard time following the rules of this family rivalry thing, not quite understanding the underlining issue between her family and the Clootie family.

When her Uncle Curtis died a few months ago the families ignored their differences and came together, but just as quickly as that came it faded away leaving Waverly confused about where everyone stood.

 

But still, time went on. She moved into the apartment above the store. Gus returned to work, although taking more and more days off and leaving Waverly to hold down the fort. Her mother and father continued to avoid each other like the plague. Wynonna boozed it up at Shorty’s and Willa flaunted her new engagement ring from the best lawyer in the Ghost River Triangle.

 

Months passed and everything returned to business as usual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a rather slow day at Gibson’s Goodies, and she’s left with a fair amount of baked goods that she has to throw out or take to Shorty’s to give away to whoever is drunk enough to want it. Promptly, she locks up the front of the store and gathers all of the old cupcakes and cookies up into a container. She grabs all of her necessities, her purse and phone and the container of almost-not-good-anymore baked goods, and exits out of the backdoor of the store.

 

The backdoor leads her into an entryway with 2 sets of stairs, one on the left and one on the right. The staircase on the left, her staircase, has a potted plant in the corner that she probably needs to water. The staircase on the right has a pile of boxes at the bottom of it, ones that weren’t there this morning when she headed out.

 

She makes sure to lock the back door to the store behind her, to keep intruders from accessing her place of business. When she turns back around, goodies container tight in her clutches, she hears a thunderous noise descend the stairs. The person making the noise floats into view as if not even touching the ground, as if utterly impossible that the noise could be coming from her.

 

Waverly can’t help but stare ahead, eyes trailing from brown ankle boots to cuffed at the ankle dark blue skinny jeans to a folded until the elbow red and black flannel. Red hair rests on the shoulders of the offender and sweat beads at the neck and forehead. In this moment, Waverly can’t think straight.

 

She can only think that the phrase ‘eye of the beholder’ is no longer a truthful one because anyone who doesn’t think this woman is beautiful simply lacks common sense.

 

She gravitates forward, she too  floating on air in the presence of this grace, a nervous tension coursing through her. Her stomach tightens and twists, no doubt the dumbest smile she’s ever worn sliding across her mouth. This is all before the red headed woman reaches the bottom of the stairs and peels off her red flannel. The nameless, faceless goddess has arms so taut that Waverly can only swallow the speechlessness away in hopes that she can remember words. And the black tank top does wonders for her color scheme.

 

Hanging her flannel on the bannister at the bottom of the stairs, the woman turns on her heel and easily catches sight of Waverly. Instantly, Waverly shapes up, the woman looking familiar but also like someone she’s only dreamed about before. The woman smiles the brightest smile Waverly has ever seen and she knows she’s seen the eighth wonder of the world now, could die having seen it all.

 

The nameless wonder shakes at the front of her black tank top for just a moment as she meets Waverly halfway, hand out stretching in a very formal and proper greeting.

 

“I’m Nicole,” she greets. _Oh god_ , Waverly notes, _she has a name_. “Nicole Haught.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s rewind.

 

Nicole Haught is returning to Purgatory under pretenses that she will be running the coffee shop next door to the bakery. This is something she will be doing because her grandfather is sick so her mother has decided to take care of him, traveling to and from the big city for weeks at a time. She doesn’t mean to conceal this from the woman she’s just seen coming out of the bakery, but upon seeing her Nicole knows that she is lucky just to know her own name.

 

Not that climbing Mt. Everest and walking the length of the Great Wall weren’t some of the greatest moments of her life. She’s seen places around the world that some people have only seen on the internet. And those places, those moments were all great. But this moment tops all other moments as the greatest moment of her life.

 

She’s making a mental note as she stares for a prolonged amount of time that this is it, this is the woman she’s going to marry one day.

 

Everything be damned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Of course,” Nicole’s future wife mutters in response.

 

Nicole’s hand hangs there for quite possibly too long, the woman not taking it as Nicole realizes, _fuck, her hands are...complicated_.

 

“I didn’t know the neighbors were renting out their upstairs,” the arguably beautiful stranger replies, space between her eyebrows creasing in confusion.

 

“Uh, not exactly,” Nicole replies. Her hand shakes in anticipation as the beauty before her does an impeccable balancing act to free up her hand. Their fingers touch and Nicole could swear she feels a spark, cross her heart and hope to die. _Do you feel that?_

 

“What?” The stranger says, brows only further furrowing.

 

“I’m sorry?” Nicole covers, realizing that perhaps she said what she was thinking aloud, “I didn’t catch your name.”

 

“Waverly,” she finally answers. _She has a name, the woman of my dreams, she has a name_. She lets go of Waverly’s hand suddenly, realizing they’ve been touching for far too long for it to not be awkward. “I live upstairs.”

 

Nicole’s gaze follows Waverly’s pointer finger as it gestures at the ceiling. A grin spreads across Nicole’s face as she realizes they are most definitely going to be neighbors. She says, “Looks like we’re going to be neighbors.”

 

“Right,” Waverly agrees with a breathless laugh, a bit of an airy chuckle spreading into the air, “The Clooties have only ever used their upstairs as a storage.”

 

“It’s actually been empty for years,” Nicole says, “Well, fully furnished. Which is a plus for me.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“I’ve been...touring the world so I don’t have many earthly possessions.”

 

“Maybe you could tell me about it some time,” Waverly says.

 

Nicole’s heart leaps into her throat. Of course she could tell Waverly about it some time. She nods and says, “Of course I can tell you about it some time.”

 

“I’ve never even left Purgatory,” Waverly admits.

 

“Oh, well,” Nicole’s thoughts hover as she debates exactly what to say to that nugget of information. She feels badly knowing that because there’s an entire world out there that’s so indescribable that she just has to see for herself. “You have to see the world for yourself.”

 

Waverly hums at that, like maybe she doesn’t think she can leave this small town. Nicole doesn’t know her beyond being the prettiest woman she’s ever seen, but she certainly thinks everyone should go out and see the world. Besides, her life has been changed by it.

 

“Oh,” Waverly says suddenly, like she’s just remembered something, “I have some cupcakes and cookies here that I couldn’t sell today. Are you interested?”

 

“Me?” Nicole asks, the hair on her arms start standing up as the entryway feels colder after she’s stopped moving. “Am I interested?”

 

“In the cupcakes? Or the cookies?” Nicole finally looks down at the container strategically placed in the space between them, the lid tightly on it. Her mind is having a difficulty wrapping around what exactly Waverly is asking her. Is she interested? _Yes, very._

 

“Great!” Waverly announces, peeling the lid off of the container. Nicole sighs, realizing that she has, once again, voiced her thoughts. She can’t remember the last time she was a bumbling mess around a girl. _Shae_. She watches Waverly’s eyebrows furrow deeply as she says, “Waverly.”

 

“What kind of cookies are these?” Nicole asks, ignoring her own stupidity. She lifts her hand and reaches it into the container, deciding which one she wants as she eyes her selections. She sees an array of flavors, fingers dangling over each and every one.

 

“You don’t have any food allergies, do you?” Waverly asks. To which Nicole immediately shakes her head. She remembers being allergic to some kind of drug that she was given in the hospital once, but she only jumbles the name up. “Well, then, it’s a surprise.”

 

Being unable to argue with a pretty girl, Nicole grabs one of the light colored cookies and lifts it to her mouth. She takes a big bite out of it without hesitation, letting the flavor seep throughout her taste buds. She can’t exactly tell what it is, but she can taste a bit of rosemary. She’s nodding before she’s even swallowing the first bite, her brain overwhelmed with so much going on.

 

“This is amazing,” she mutters around her food. She immediately takes a second bite, feeling Waverly’s wide eyes on her. Nicole nearly chokes on the bite under Waverly’s heated gaze. She swallows all too quickly, the crumbs getting caught in the base of her throat. “I better get back to moving the rest of my stuff upstairs.”

 

“Did you, uh, need a hand?” Waverly asks, closing the lid back on the container.

 

Quickly turning to look at the small pile of boxes, now down to 2 instead of the 9 she started with, Nicole realizes that she still has the god-awful task of unpacking. She’s shaking her head before she’s even returned her gaze to Waverly. When her eyes land back on the petite woman, she almost wants to kick herself for suggesting they part ways.

 

“No, no,” she denies, “I appreciate the offer, but I’ve got it covered.”

 

“Ok, well, if you change your mind,” Waverly says slowly, tucking the container of goodies under her arm and gesturing a knocking motion with a closed fist, “Just give me a little knock.”

 

“Will do,” Nicole says, taking a sure step back and putting some space between them.

 

She can still smell Waverly, the scent following her, as she can’t help but to continue to stare at her future wife. She offers Waverly a wide smile. She sets the cookie down on top of the box and finally forces herself to look away, scooping up the box to carry it up the stairs. She balances it expertly, locking eyes with Waverly one more time as the presumably younger woman is cut out of her view and she makes her way into her new apartment.

 

Setting the box down just inside of the door, she surveys her new kingdom.

 

Well, kind of her kingdom.

 

Her actual new kingdom is downstairs, _Clootie’s Coffee_.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She isn’t entirely sure she remembers how to make all of the drinks. She hasn’t been behind the counter since before she moved away at 19. Her grandfather had made a deal with her on her 18th birthday, only mentioning it again on the day she graduated from high school – he would help her travel the world to the best of his ability as long as she agreed to come home and take over the coffee shop. It had been built in 1899 by her great-grandfather, family owned and operated ever since.

 

Her mother had been vehemently against the idea, insisting that Nicole take business classes over becoming a world-traveler, but her grandfather ultimately won out. As he typically does. Her mother can’t very well argue with him as he has given their entire family everything they could ever want for their entire lives. Begrudgingly, her mother typically concedes to whatever he decides.

 

And her grandfather, Bulshar Clootie, he’s never been a bad guy. In fact, by way of grandfathers, he’s been the best she could ask for – especially after her dad died in the Iraq War when she was 13. He’s just been particular. She’s always been his favorite, even though he’s always encouraged her to follow his dreams rather than her own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She’s pretty sure she has a notebook with all of the drink making cheat sheets in it somewhere in one of these boxes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She stands in the center of her living room, delicious cookie in hand, and lets her mind drift away as the song from earlier begins to escape her loose lips:

 

_“She has a name, the woman of my dreams, she has a name.”_

_Fuck_ , she stops suddenly, hearing a creaking sound just outside of her door. She steps back out into the hallway, standing at the top stoop and sheepishly looking to her left. She locks eyes with Waverly again and gives a small wave. The cookie is still in her hand, she realizes, so she throws it up into another gesture. Not really sure what she’s doing anymore.

 

All she does know for sure is that she’s making a complete fool of herself.

 

“Thanks again,” she says across the foyer.

 

Waverly smiles back, eyes crinkling in such an adorable manner that Nicole drops her cookie. _Shit_ , she whispers with a thick, thick gulp as it crumbles to the ground and leaves it’s delicious looking remains everywhere. The crumbs are lining steps of the staircase as a cookie murder is splattered over the floor just in front of the door in the entryway. If she didn’t know any better she would say that someone had a great time here recently.

 

“R-I-P,” she says solemnly, staring at the bits of cookie everywhere.

 

“Jesus, Nicole,” Waverly says. The newest light of Nicole’s life disappears into her apartment so quickly that she feels like she has whiplash. All of the air in her lungs is swirling into the air in front of her, not quite allowing her to breathe.

 

The door between the staircases that leads to outside rattles and Nicole’s inability to breathe quickly dissipates to a small squeak of embarrassment as she comes face to face with her mother.

 

“Mom,” she says, remembering to breathe again.

 

She looks over at Waverly’s door just in time to see her neighbor returning back into her apartment and firmly shutting the door. She’s pretty sure she hears three sets of locks click. When she looks back down the stairs, the Dalmatian’s leash has been dropped and he’s vacuuming up every inch of the cookie that he can sniff out while her mother sports an angry look in the direction of the same door Nicole herself had been looking at.  

 

The Dalmatian comes all the way up the stairs, scarfing up the last bit of cookie by her feet and she instinctively pets the top of his head.

 

“I was just bringing Sebastian by like we discussed,” Lucy says, climbing the stairs one heel at a time, “I see you’ve provided him with treats.”

 

“Grandpa _did_ say that’s the way to his heart,” Nicole replies cheekily. She ushers Sebastian into the apartment to free up the space into the doorway for her mother to enter. Lucy pauses briefly at the top of the stairs to give Nicole a quick hug, so quickly that Nicole almost doesn’t even notice. By the time she looks into the apartment over her mother’s shoulder she sees that Sebastian has already made himself comfortable on the sofa. “Glad he’s made himself at home.”

 

“He does that,” Lucy says, slight disdain in her voice, “Grandfather and I leave first thing tomorrow morning so I’ll need you to open the store.”

 

Her mother lays a set of keys down on the countertop beside her. Nicole can only nod, refusing to admit that she’s pretty sure her first day back is going to be a flop. She says, “Of course.”

 

“And don’t let me catch you making eyes at that Earp girl again,” her mother says quickly and sternly.

 

“She happens to be a very nice young woman,” she replies, possibly saying the word ‘woman’ a little too enthusiastically to her mother, “Besides, that cookie was delicious.”

 

“Yet, most of it ended up on the floor for Sebastian to eat,” her mother says, “Where it belongs.”

 

“Well, I think she’s nice,” Nicole says, a little too flippantly if her mother’s gaze has anything to say. She gets lost for a moment on Waverly’s adorable smile, “And adorable.”

 

“Try to keep it in your pants, Nicole,” Lucy replies with a heavy, heavy sigh, “If the holidays have taught me anything it’s that you have a weakness for pretty girls, but those Earp girls are _off limits_.”

 

“We’ll see,” Nicole says with a smirk.

 

“I’m not kidding,” Lucy says, any trace of humor lost on the moment, “You know what they did to us.”

 

She does not, in fact, know what the Earps or the Gibsons did to them. This disdain has carried on for generations and she isn’t even sure that anyone knows what the real reason their families began to hate each other is. Nicole’s actually beginning to think she’s the only one in her family to ever even try any of a Gibson’s baked treat.

 

“Well,” she grumbles. Her thought is cut off by a loud noise in the hallway and she quickly turns on her heel again to catch another glimpse of Waverly. She can barely see her but they do manage to lock eyes for just the briefest of moments – Nicole’s pretty sure her mother is displeased with the entire exchange.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frantic knocking truly interrupts her planning segment of the morning. Whoever it is will certainly be getting a stern talking to because surely they’re aware of just how important her planning segment of the morning is to her. She poises the words in her mouth as she opens her apartment door, ready to blow, but she’s halted in her anger as Nicole stands there looking insanely gorgeous for someone she knows she’s supposed to hate for no apparent reason.

 

“Waverly, hi,” she greets, throat seeming to tighten, “Sorry to bother you so early but I really need your help.”

 

 _No_ , Waverly thinks, _go away_ \- “Sure, what’s up?”

 

“So,” Nicole starts, rubbing at the back of her neck, “I have no idea how to do this anymore.”

 

“Do...” Waverly trails off, hoping for a supplemental filler so she doesn’t have to finish her question but it doesn’t come, “...What?”

 

Nicole looks down at her feet. Waverly follows her gaze and she spots a pair of black boots with black pants cuffed at the ankles and a very simple blue sweater. The sweater, of course, looks so comfortable that Waverly just wants to curl up in it and she thinks, _God, Nicole is stunning_.

 

“You see,” Nicole starts again, hands beginning to fidget, “The last time I was in the shop was five years ago and I thought for sure I could just find my cheat notebook and figure it out, but...”

 

Waverly’s listening intently, she really is, but the fidgeting is really distracting. So distracting that she has to reach out and touch Nicole’s hands. She doesn’t exactly realize she’s doing it, not really.

 

It would actually be surprising to Waverly if Nicole even realizes that Nicole turns one of her hands over so their palms press together.

 

She leans forward a little, dipping slightly to force Nicole to look her in the eye. She urges her to continue, “But?”

 

“I couldn’t exactly find the notebook in any of my boxes,” Nicole admits. Waverly can’t help laughing. She wants to clarify that she isn’t laughing at Nicole, but she’s laughing at how cute Nicole is coming to her. “That’s not very nice.”

 

“I’m sorry, sorry,” Waverly recovers, releasing Nicole’s hand, “It’s just...never mind.”

 

Waverly’s brain becomes flooded with a repeated mantra of, _You’re cute_.

 

“Ok, just,” Nicole trails off, tilting her foot back into her heel and resting the majority of her weight on one foot. She looks for a moment like she might give up. She doesn’t. Actually, she looks Waverly directly in the eye and grins as sheepishly as Waverly has ever seen. “Did I mention that they’ve gotten a new machine and I’ve never seen it before?”

 

“You’re hopeless,” Waverly replies with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. It would cost her nothing to say no, honestly. In fact, she would probably be better off if she did. But that just isn’t in her nature, no matter who the real Nicole Haught actually is. Besides, it’s the neighborly thing to do. “Well, do you at least have a cell phone?”

 

She steps outside of her front door and closes it behind her. Meanwhile, her other hand presses against Nicole’s elbow encouraging her to turn before planting itself at the small of Nicole’s back. She can’t believe it. She’s actually touching Nicole, again.

 

Waverly thinks, _Where did this bravery come from?_

 

“Huh,” Nicole says, “I do but it’s a little...dated.”

 

When they reach the bottom of the stairs, Nicole pauses to dig through her pocket for the device. When she pulls it out, it’s an old flip phone that Waverly hasn’t seen in years. She openly gawks at it as she regains her composure. That thing would only be any good for phone calls.

 

“That won’t help one bit,” Waverly replies with a laugh, her hand coming up and wrapping around the device. For some weird reason she takes it from Nicole and holds it in her hand. She opens her mouth to say -

 

“Geez, Waverly, if you wanted my phone number, all you had to do was ask.”

 

“Hm,” she gives it a moment of thought before pressing the Motorola Razer into Nicole’s chest. Nicole’s hand comes up and holds both Waverly’s hand and the device there. The feeling is...wow. Pulling her hand out of Nicole’s clutches she says, “Maybe get your grandfather to get you an upgrade.”

 

“I will go to the phone store immediately after work and ask for one of those upgrade thingys,” Nicole teases. Waverly, not quite believing her, presses her fingers to Nicole’s elbow to remind her exactly why they’re here. This seems to kick her into gear because her ridiculously long, gorgeous legs move her towards the back door to the coffee shop and all Waverly can do it follow. “Thank you so much for helping me.”

 

“What are neighbors for?” Waverly replies without hesitation. She follows Nicole into the coffee shop and, stepping foot into the store, she’s overwhelmed with memories of her rebellious high school years. “I used to sneak in here when I was in high school.”

 

“So like a year ago?”

 

“Three years ago,” Waverly says, feigning offense, “Besides, Robin’s boyfriend Jeremy can go into unnecessary details about these machines. He’s really hard to ignore.”

 

“Robin? Jeremy?”

 

“Jeremy is your head barista,” Waverly clarifies. She huffs suddenly, highly annoyed on Nicole’s behalf. The woman is literally walking in blind without an overview on anything. “Nicole, when did you get here?”

 

“Yesterday,” Nicole answers, “Remember? We met in the hallway.”

 

“It’s just...do you know when Jeremy gets in?” Waverly hears her question before her brain catching up that Nicole doesn’t even know who Jeremy is. She shakes her head quickly, mumbling, “That’s a stupid question.”

 

A moment of silence lingers before Waverly adds on, “Look, I’ll text Robin and ask him to find out when Jeremy will be here.”

 

“You’re my hero,” Nicole says very quickly. Her eyes widen like she said something wrong but she doesn’t say anything else.

 

“Let’s just see if I can get some coffee going really quickly so you’re good to go for open,” Waverly says.

 

She eyes all of the machines and walks up to one she recognizes as a coffee machine for brewing. She had been looking at them online in hopes to convince Gus to get one for the store. When she pushes a button, she swears that Nicole’s voice is easily drowned out by the sound of water spewing everywhere.

 

“Balls,” Waverly groans, finally finding the handle to turn it off.

 

“Sorry, sorry,” Nicole repeats in a panic as she runs over to help, but Waverly’s already taken the brunt of it, “I should have warned you. That’s what it did to me right before I went upstairs to change shirts and beg for your help.”

 

“It’s fine,” she says with a sigh. It isn’t Nicole’s fault. “It isn’t your fault. I’ll just-“

 

She starts tugging on the hem of her shirt to get the disgusting feeling off of her skin. It gets stuck somewhere on her arms and she becomes increasingly frustrated. What a great time for her to develop her first girl crush...

 

“Let me help you,” Nicole’s muffled voice says as her arms are pressed against her ears. Once Nicole has helped her out of her shirt, Waverly nearly turns an embarrassing shade of red. “See? All good.”

 

Nicole smiles reassuringly.

 

“Yes,” Waverly agrees, breath hitching in her throat, “Let me just run upstairs and I’ll text Robin.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Sure,” Nicole says. She watches Waverly walk away and nearly collapses on the spot into a stupid puddle of a mess. This entire morning has been a complete disaster and yet she still somehow manages to snag a reward.

 

Grabbing the nearest cloth, she begins to wipe down the counter from all of the water that had spewed out all over Waverly. Waverly, whose white tank top had been soaked all of the way through and helped Nicole realize she’s a totally garbage human that absolutely does not miss an opportunity to ogle at a beautiful woman. She’s really going to have that image burned into her head for the rest of her life. If she’s lucky.

 

The place looks fresh and clean, but it’s missing the sweet aroma of coffee. Just to clarify, Nicole likes coffee. She would even go as far as saying that she makes a very poignant and enjoyable cup of it. She can make it in a standard machine quite well. Hell, she can even roast an amazing cup over a fire in the middle of the woods. This high tech, too expensive for its own good machine is a totally different story.

 

She doesn’t exactly blame her mother for assuming that she had it all pat down, seeing as how she did a few shifts a week when she was in school and never had a single complaint.

 

She really is the employee to strive to beat.

 

At least she would like to think so.

 

“So Robin said that Jeremy told him that the new guy Quinn is going to be here at eight,” Waverly says. Nicole sighs, staring at Waverly dreamily. She has completely changed her outfit and now has on a pair of light blue skinny jeans, a maroon crop top with long sleeves and an absolutely adorable floral print cardigan on. She’s lost her ability to form words. “Looks like it’s just you and me for an hour.”

 

“Perfect,” Nicole musters.

 

Meanwhile, her internal alarm is sounding as she feels the first honest to god panic attack of her life creep on. She’s been caught in the crossfire of Africa, lost in the jungles of South America, nearly had her boat hijacked in the Mediterranean and managed to keep a level head, but being trapped in a building with a pretty girl trying to figure out how to run the family business all on her own is what’s going to do it. She grasps on tightly to the counter, using all of her strength to just hold herself upright.

 

“Whoa, Nicole,” Waverly says quickly, tucking her phone away into her pocket and slipping beneath Nicole’s arm. Oh, Waverly, her strong pillar of support.

 

_Where have you been all my life?_

 

“Next door,” Waverly says, corners of her lips tugging upwards as a concern settles in her eyes. Nicole looks at her, breathing beginning to quickly settle again. The longer she looks into Waverly’s eyes, the more lost and at peace she becomes. “Are you going to be ok?”

 

“I’m fine,” she answers. Truthfully, she’s never felt more gay in her entire life. She’s always been confident and self-assured, casually talking up every woman she finds attractive. She’s just really pretty. “You’re just really pretty.”

 

The words have barely left her mouth and she’s slamming her palm against her forehead.

Waverly’s hand wraps around her wrist and peels her hand away. She doesn’t necessarily let go any time quickly and oh boy does Nicole confuse that with encouragement. Regardless, she offers Waverly a smile.

 

“I have, uh, had,” Waverly starts, courage fleeing her voice, “A boyfriend.”

 

“You don’t though, right?”

 

Waverly slowly shakes her head. She says, “But I’m not...”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Nicole suddenly realizes, her brain putting all those puzzle pieces together. Of course her future wife isn’t gay enough to actually be her future wife. “Why would you be?”

 

“I’m not...” Waverly seems confused, “I mean, if I were...”

 

“If you were,” Nicole repeats.

 

“I can’t say I haven’t thought about it,” Waverly seems to digress, “I just, unicorns.”

 

“Unicorns,” Nicole repeats again, “Exactly.”

 

She’s never been more confused in her life and she once had an entire conversation with a monk who took a vow of silence.

 

“I don’t know,” Waverly says then, completely negating the entirety of what was just said. Waverly sighs, obviously annoyed. Nicole just nods her head slowly, staring at Waverly like she can’t help it. She probably can’t. It doesn’t help that Waverly’s hand is still circled around her wrist. “Let’s just get this machine figured out and then maybe you can buy me a cup of coffee.”

 

“I will buy you a cup of coffee,” she confirms with certainty. She looks at the machine and it hits her, there’s a simple switch. She reaches out and turns the switch, the machine roaring to life. She sighs in relief, and it suddenly hits her. She turns her hand over beneath Waverly’s and grabs on for dear life. “If you ever need to talk about it.”

 

“You’re right next door.”

 

“I’m right next door,” she repeats, giving Waverly’s hand a squeeze.

 

She lets go and puts some space between them, stepping around to the floor to set all of the chairs on the ground and unlock the front door. She makes her way back to where Waverly is, reaching over for a ceramic mug and pushing a now brightly lit button that says push. She fills one and hands it off to Waverly before reaching for another to fill for herself.

 

She finally looks up at Waverly as she cradles the cup in her hands. They stare at each other as they blow on their respective coffees until there’s a little jingle above the door that breaks her attention. She sets the coffee she hasn’t yet taken a sip of on the counter and checks her watch on her right wrist. They’ve been open for 5 minutes and she gets her first customer.

 

Xavier.

 

“Morning,” she greets, albeit a smidge bitterly.

 

“I came to check on things before my shift,” he said, eyes scanning the place. She watches his gaze settle on Waverly behind her. He smirks. “Seems you have an extra set of hands. Morning, Miss Earp.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Good morning to you, Xavier,” Waverly replies cheerfully.

 

Feeling Nicole’s eyes on her, she immediately blushes. Waverly feels utterly confused about the words that have come out of her mouth this morning. She’s given it some thought and had ultimately decided that she isn’t against dating women, she just doesn’t see much of an opportunity to do so in a small town.

 

She would probably do Nicole though.

 

If they weren’t destined to be lifelong enemies, that is.

 

“Don’t tell my mom,” Waverly hears Nicole tell Xavier in a quiet, sharp tone, “She already ripped my head off yesterday.”

 

“You know I don’t subscribe to that drama,” he says at his normal volume, “I just want that free cup of coffee before I’m stuck with the garbage at the station all day.”

 

He gives Waverly a big smile, his white teeth nearly blinding her. It’s funny that both Nicole and Xavier have blinding smiles. She thinks she likes Nicole’s better.

 

“I feel so used,” Nicole says. Nicole finds a Styrofoam cup and hits that glowing pour button to fill it with half an inch from the brim. Turning carefully, Nicole sets it down on the counter between them. “You owe me.”

 

“I’m not telling your mom about...this,” Xavier replies, eyebrow arching challengingly, “I think we’re even.”

 

“Rats,” Nicole says sharply under her breath.

 

Nicole moves around the counter, walking towards the door with Xavier. Waverly absently wonders how close the two of them are. If Waverly remembers correctly, and she probably doesn’t, they were both seniors in high school when their parents got married. He’s a nice guy, but he also isn’t held to the Clootie standards like Nicole is.

 

She actually thinks he might have a thing for her sister.

 

“Have a good day, Miss Earp,” Xavier calls from the door.

 

“You as well, Officer Dolls,” she replies.

 

She stops paying attention to the interaction before her. Holding her mug tightly in her nimble fingers, she moves around the counter as well to find a seat at a table. It’s in the corner, away from the front of the shop and close enough to the counter that Nicole could return behind it to assist a customer with ease.

 

And that’s where they sit, idly chatting about types of cappuccinos and using Waverly’s modern device to google recipes for drinks on the menu until Quinn arrives. They have the occasional customer, fumbling through the results of recipes and offering sincere apologies as well as promises of better drinks in the future. Nicole offers so many discounts that Waverly could bet that the shop would lose money for the day if she were left alone for the entirety of it.

 

By the time Quinn strolls in and Waverly ducks out to prepare for her own store to open, she realizes that she is absolutely going to be forced to come to terms with things she’s easily been able to ignore.

 

 _Great_ , Waverly thinks.


	2. emotions tend to entwine earthlings together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are you going to?” She asks, “Break me, I mean.”

Nicole is nervous.  
  
Clutching the bag of Chinese food in hand, she climbs the stairs.  Only this apartment, it doesn’t belong to her.  The staircase is the one opposite of hers and it feels different.  Her heart is pounding in her chest, and she hasn’t even knocked yet.  She shakes her free hand out before rolling it into a fist and knocking lightly on the door.    
  
She was standing here a few days ago, and that morning is the last time she saw Waverly.    
  
The reason she’s here, however, is something she isn’t even sure Waverly will be open to.  
  
It takes what seems like forever until she hears  the sound of the locks being disengaged.  The door opens slowly and Waverly stares at Nicole with hardened eyes.  She doesn’t look angry, just tired.  
  
“I accidentally ordered too much Chinese food,” Nicole says, forgoing the traditional greeting.    
  
She had not accidentally ordered too much Chinese food.  In fact, she had carefully whispered to the woman behind the counter that she wanted whatever Waverly usually ordered fully intending to stride straight to her door.  It is a factually flawed plan, considering the fact that the entire reason she’s here is that she heard Waverly’s father yelling at his daughter through the thinner than expected walls.    
  
“I,” Waverly starts to reply but just shuts her mouth.  Nicole sees an internal war raging within Waverly and she feels all of her hope sink.  It’s a few moments before the debate passes, maybe even a full minute, and Waverly takes a step back.  She says, “Yeah, alright. Come on in.”  
  
Nicole peeks inside through the open door before stepping all of the way through.  She takes a look around and notes that it’s decorated to the nines in a fashion that screams the Waverly she met the other morning.  Hearing the door shut, she turns her gaze back to the occupant of the apartment.  Nicole’s chest tightens when she realizes that Waverly looks like she’s been crying.  
  
Nicole is overwhelmed with the urge to hug Waverly.  
  
“Are you alright?” She asks instead.  
  
“Yeah, I just,” Waverly trails off.  
  
“Have been crying,” she finishes for Waverly.  
  
“No,” Waverly denies.  Nicole watches as she sighs heavily and there’s a sharp pain right in Nicole’s chest as she really wants nothing more than to make Waverly’s own pain disappear.  “I’ve just been...cutting onions.”  
  
Taking a look into the very open, very obvious kitchen, Nicole notes that it has not a single onion on the counter.  In fact, the kitchen, as well as the rest of the apartment, looks spotless.  Nicole is usually one who quickly lets things go when someone clearly doesn’t want to talk about it, but for some reason she feels different with Waverly.  She feels an intense need to make Waverly happier than she’s ever been.  
  
Is this love?  
  
“Maybe we can add those onions to the Chinese,” she tries, lifting the bag in suggestion again.  
  
They stare at each other for a really long time.  Nicole finally starts counting in her head, and gets to 80 by the time either of them even flinches.  Nicole cracks first but only because if she keeps looking at Waverly she’s going to say something to betray herself.  
  
This is what she thinks in those 80+ ticks:  
  
1\. Waverly Earp is the most enchanting person she has ever laid eyes on  
2\. Nicole wants nothing more than to take all of Waverly’s worries away  
3\. She now definitely believes in love at first sight  
  
There’s more but she tries not to get stuck on it.    
  
“I wasn’t cutting onions,” Waverly finally admits.    
  
Nicole hears Waverly move across the room.  She feels Waverly take the bag from her hand.  Her sense are heightened.  Waverly makes her feel like she’s floating.    
  
She nods quickly because she always knew Waverly wasn’t cutting onions.    
  
“If you tell me who made you cry, I’ll beat them up,” Nicole says.  Nicole makes a fist out of her left hand and shakes it dramatically in the air.  Waverly puffs out a laugh that causes a grin to form on Nicole’s face.  She would do anything to hear Waverly laugh.  “I’m serious.  I’ll punch ‘em right in the kisser.”  
  
“Who even talks like that?” Waverly asks from the kitchen.  Nicole looks up at her and sees that the corners of Waverly’s mouth are tugged upward.  It makes Nicole’s heart swell three sizes bigger.  “You got my favorite.”  
  
“I asked around,” Nicole replies.    
  
Casually, she leans against the couch to gaze gooey eyed at Waverly.  She is fairly certain her mother would call her a fool.  Actually, if her mother were calling her anything it would be a traitor to the family name.    
  
“You did not,” Waverly says, small laugh bubbling out.  Waverly gets two plates and dishes some food out onto them.  Nicole watches for far too long when she should have said something long ago.  
  
“Ok, well, I assumed they knew your favorite and asked them for that,” Nicole admits.  She smirks and says, “Obviously it worked.”  
  
“I’m flattered you would go to the trouble,” Waverly says.  She pauses for a few minutes as she completes the food preparation and looks up at Nicole.  Her eyes look full of tears again and Nicole immediately stands upright, ready to close the space between them if need be.  “But why?”  
  
“Have you ever met someone and instantly knew that they meant something to you?”  
  
She doesn’t know why she says it, exposes herself so fully, but she does.  And Waverly reacts accordingly, face turning away and unable to meet Nicole’s gaze.  She feels giddy at making Waverly have some sort of reaction to anything she would say.    
  
“I don’t know.  Maybe?” Waverly says, face a little confused like she doesn’t completely understand.  Nicole gets it. It was a bold statement considering.  “I’m still trying to figure things out.”  
  
“What things?”  
  
“Me,” Waverly says softly.  She watches on as Waverly lifts the plates from the counter, leaving the bag there with the containers scattered about.  Taking the plate from Waverly, Nicole offers her a small smile, one that is both grateful and reassuring.  Waverly sighs and says, “You.”  
  
They don’t maintain eye contact this time as Waverly moves around her, mostly likely too embarrassed by the admission to show Nicole her face.  Instinctively, Nicole thinks _well, me and you together would be amazing_.  But she shakes it off and follows Waverly towards the couch.  The two chairs at the table by the entryway goes untouched as Nicole notes she can see directly into Waverly’s bedroom.    
  
Realizing that Waverly’s bedroom is pressed up against Nicole’s kitchen, Nicole absently notes to avoid the kitchen at all costs any time she sees Waverly bring someone home.  Even though they just met, Nicole thinks it would kill her to hear more than she’s bargaining for.  Nicole also notes that Waverly’s apartment is larger than hers.  Not that Nicole necessarily cares considering she doesn’t really have many earthly possessions.  
  
She can’t help herself, however, when she says, “Your apartment looks bigger than mine.”  
  
“Oh yeah?  Jealous?” Waverly teases as she takes a seat in the corner of the couch.  
  
Nicole knows she should be a polite guest and sit in the opposite corner, but something about Waverly just draws her near.  She doesn’t think she could stay away from Waverly even if she wanted to.  So, what she actually does is sit as close to Waverly on the couch as they can both manage, while each balancing plates.  
  
“Not really,” Nicole finally answers.  She realizes her sleeves are all of the way down to the base of her palms and she is already feeling warm, especially in such close proximity to Waverly.  “My family though, they would probably be pissed if they knew.”  
  
“Don’t they have floor plans for the building?”  
  
“Huh,” Nicole hums in response.  She had actually never thought of that.  In fact, she has always done her damnedest to ask as few questions about the family business as possible.  It’s really a mistake she’s made, she’s beginning to realize.  “To be honest, I never actually asked.”  
  
“And how is the coffee shop shaping up?” Waverly asks.  
  
“Miserably,” Nicole answers.  Actually, she’s mostly lying.  Jeremy and Quinn have taught her enough for her to run the shop alone.  Not to mention that she actually did find her notebook in one of the boxes.  Even though half of those drinks are no longer part of the menu, she thinks that as the manager she can add them back if she really wants.  The part of the coffee shop that is actually most miserable is that she hasn’t had an opportunity to rope Waverly into spending more time together.  Hopefully that changes.  She says, “Things are beginning to take a turn though.”  
  
“That’s good to hear, Nicole,” Waverly murmurs.  The sound of her name from Waverly’s lips stills her and she just watches as Waverly digs through her plate with a pair of chopsticks.  She’s so cultured.  Nicole knows she’s probably in love.  “I was honestly afraid you were going to come a knocking on my door begging for help again.”  
  
“I thought about it,” Nicole admitted, finally looking away and pushing her food around with the chopsticks in her hand, “But Jeremy wouldn’t leave me alone long enough to sneak away.”  
  
“So you finally met Jeremy?” Waverly asks.  
  
“He rearranged his entire schedule this week to work with me,” Nicole says.  She actually feels a bit embarrassed about it, letting someone who isn’t part of her family help her.  She’s supposed to know this stuff.  This is supposed to be her responsibility one day.  It was decided for her years ago.  “After this, I’m giving him a huge raise.”  
  
“Oh yeah?” Waverly teases, mouth around some noodles and eyebrows popping up on her forehead.  
  
“I don’t know,” Nicole groans, leaning forward and setting her plate on the table to pull up her sleeves, “Please don’t tell him I said that.”  
  
“Ok,” Waverly agrees, laughing a little at what Nicole assumes is her flustered state, “But only because I refuse to be the one to break his heart.”  
  
Nicole smiles genuinely, saying a quick ‘thank you’ that Waverly either doesn’t hear or just doesn’t acknowledge.  She appreciates the gesture, becoming increasingly aware of her foot in mouth syndrome.  Can a doctor prescribe her something for that?  
  
“You know,” Nicole finally says after a long silence, “In China they used to sit on the floor to eat, like they do in many other cultures. It’ssaid that it helps improve digestion...not to mention, improves flexibility.”  
  
“I was head cheerleader,” Waverly replies a bit defensively.  
  
“Still,” Nicole says with a laugh.  She returns to her food and shovels in a mouth full.  Once she’s chewed it and swallowed she looks at Waverly again.  “Do you like yoga?”  
  
“I hardly have time,” Waverly says, body becoming languid as her head hangs slightly over her plate, “Between the store and classes, I almost never have a minute to just breathe.  Besides, all of the yoga classes in this town are in the middle of the day.  I can’t take time off to go to one.”  
  
“I could teach you,” Nicole offers, “I’m a pretty good teacher.  I learned when I did my eat, pray, love.”  
  
“Of course,” Waverly mutters.  
  
“What?” Nicole asks.  She looks at Waverly sharply, gaze boring into the other woman like she’s trying to read her thoughts.  And, oh boy, if she could that would just make everything so much easier.  She elbows Waverly’s forearm lightly, trying like hell to direct Waverly’s attention back to her.  “Of course, what?”  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
“It’s just,” Waverly starts, pausing to set down her plate  on the coffee table and tuck her hair behind her ear.  She feels nervous, like her insides are about to hit a curb and just spill overboard and poof, she just tells Nicole everything.  She smiles, face surely reflecting the sadness within her.  “You’ve gone everywhere.  You’ve seen it all.  How can I compete with that?”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Nicole replies softly.  Waverly feels Nicole lean into her side, upper arms pressing together.  She feels her arm twitch and she wants to move, wants to get away from this woman who has pushed her beyond her comfort zone.  “But what exactly are you competing with?”  
  
“I don’t know,” she immediately replies, looking down at her hands.  She entwined her fingers together, busting them so she doesn’t reach out and grab hold of Nicole for dear life.  She sighs, frustrated, and says, “It’s just, even Wynonna has been to Greece before.  Meanwhile, I’m stuck here being the least interesting person in Purgatory destined for some small town loser who won’t amount to anything.”  
  
“Hey,” Nicole replies, voice just as soft as before, “Waverly Earp, you are not destined for some loser.  And, for what it’s worth, I think you’re the most interesting person in this town.”  
  
“Yeah,” Waverly snorts, “Right.”  
  
She doesn’t know why, but she wants to be interesting enough for Nicole.  She wants to carry a conversation, say something that impresses Nicole, be Nicole’s main focus.  She knows that she shouldn’t have anything to do with Nicole, that her family is against their interaction by all means, but something about Nicole makes Waverly want to be around her more.  
  
She’s been doing her best to avoid Nicole, honestly.  
  
Her father even went as far as coming to her apartment earlier to yell at her for being in the coffee shop.  
  
And when he left she had promised she wasn’t going to be caught with Nicole again, but she just can’t help the way she thinks she feels.  
  
Waverly looks at Nicole.  Nicole who is wearing another sweater with a pair of blue jeans that hug her nicely.  Nicole who is wearing a confused look on her face.  God, Waverly thinks, she’s so attractive.  
  
“I’m-“ Nicole starts but is promptly cut off by the sound of a bark next door.  Waverly watches as Nicole snaps her mouth shut and casts a glance in the direction of the wall.  She sighs, a disappointed look spreading across her features.  “I have to take Sebastian out.”  
  
“Oh,” Waverly says.  Her shoulders slump, she feels them, and she looks away.  She wants to look into Nicole’s brown eyes all night but the world around them just won’t stop moving.    
  
“You could join me,” Nicole suggests.  
  
Waverly knows she should say no.    
  
She looks down at herself, at her unpresentable clothes.  Suddenly, she realizes, she never should have let Nicole see her like this.  She’s in a pair of sweatpants and an oversized sweater that Wynonna got from the airport on her trip to Greece.  She’s embarrassed, so much so that she almost starts crying again.  
  
“Let me get changed,” she mutters.  If Nicole was willing to sit with her without commenting how much of a mess she looks, then she should at least give Nicole more time with her looking more presentable.  “I’ll meet you downstairs.”  
  
“Awesome,” Nicole replies, enthusiastically.  Nicole gets impossibly closer and Waverly finds herself tilting her head upward in wanting or wait.  Her eyes flutter closed as Nicole pushes up on the back of the couch, and the weight shifts towards her.  She feels Nicole’s warmth inching towards her face, and she truly doesn’t know what she’s expecting.  She swallows and suddenly she hears, “Don’t keep me waiting.”  
  
Nicole’s voice is much further than she remembers.  
  
She blinks her eyes open slowly, helplessly confused by the way that Nicole is no longer directly beside her.  
  
Nicole, beautiful and amazing Nicole, winks so expertly that Waverly is glad she’s already sitting down or else she might melt to the floor.  Nicole then leaves. It’s quickly and slowly at the same time, closing the door behind her with such ease.  Waverly hears her clamber down the stairs before she can even muster her wits to get up off of the couch.  Sighing, she chastises herself for agreeing to go on a walk with Nicole.  She also chastises herself for letting Nicole in her front door in the first place.  
  
Despite herself, she goes into her bedroom and looks for a pair of pants.  She settles on a blue floral print at the front of her closet with a gray sweater.  She hasn’t been outside in a few hours so she hopes it’ll be enough temperature wise.  She pulls on a pair of brown ankle boots and hopes that the color scheme goes together quite well because she doesn’t have time to do a once over in the mirror.  
  
However, on her escape to the front door, she catches sight of her hair in the mirror and notices that her braid is a bonafide disaster.  She pulls the twist tie out of her hair and the thick strands fall into waves that frame her face.  She huffs at her reflection, annoyed at the mess looking back at her.  
  
She bites the bullet and opens her front door as she runs her hands through her hair, trying to tame it at least a little.  She sees Nicole standing by the door leading to their little 4 door entryway, Sebastian doing a little excited dance beside the redhead.  Waverly has never formally met Sebastian, but she saw him in passing when Nicole’s mother had brought the Dalmatian by.  
  
“Hey!” Nicole says, loud and bright, Sebastian’s tail hitting her in the leg, “Sebastian’s excited to see you.”  
  
“I bet he’s excited to see everyone,” Waverly replies.  She makes sure her front door is secured shut behind her and locks it.  The sound of the lock cuts through her brain as she recites a mantra of what are you doing? repeatedly.    
  
“More importantly,” Nicole adds, a cheeky grin on her face, “Nicole’s excited.”  
  
Waverly thinks of a time that she could float down the stairs, a warm laugh falling from her mouth, and kiss Nicole on the mouth.  She thinks of their kiss in such a casual way, like they’ve been doing it forever and they’ll keep doing it forever.  The way she used to kiss Champ but without the cringing reflex that came with it.  
  
Waverly, once again, thinks, _You’re adorable_.  
  
Waverly closes the distance between them, each step she takes a soft sound that reverberates off of the walls.  Nicole’s cheeky grin stays on her face and as she gets closer Sebastian grows more excited.  He begins jumping, front legs leaving the ground while hind legs stay planted.  Waverly can’t help smiling at his excitement, making her feel more special than she probably is.    
  
When she doesn’t get close enough, she reaches her hand out towards the animal and lets him sniff her.  His dry nose barely touches her before his tongue slides along the back of her hand, leaving her skin wet in his wake.  His licks are fervent and warm, the slurping sound quickly getting drowned out by a soft giggle tumbling out of her mouth.  
  
“And,” Nicole interrupts Waverly’s entrancement on Sebastian and forces her to return her gaze to Nicole, “He isn’t excited to see everyone.  The other day he saw some clown and lost his shit.  You haven’t heard him barking his head off all day?”  
  
“Guess I’ve been too busy,” Waverly murmurs.  She has, in fact, been extremely busy between the store and her online classes.  When she hasn’t been busy with that, she’s been trying not to be at home in fear of running in to her new neighbor.  “Have you considered taking him with you?”  
  
“To the shop?” Nicole asks, confusion written all over her face.  Waverly nods, feeling a bit stupid for suggesting it.  Nicole doesn’t react negatively though.  She actually seems to give it some honest thought.  However, Nicole begins tugging on the leash and saying, “Alright, that’s enough.  Get off of her, Sebastian.”  
  
“Oh, he’s-“  
  
“A troublemaker,” Nicole cuts her off, “He’s still in that puppy stage and he’s just too big for some people.”  
  
“Are you implying that he could break me?” Waverly asks, a bit cheekier than she means to.  She even has an overly flirtatious pep in her step that she calms as Nicole opens the door for her to pass through.  
  
“Oh, I’m sure you’re breakable, Waverly,” Nicole replies with a smirk, “I could break you and I’m a tad bit more careful than this hellion.”  
  
The cold air hits her cheeks and Waverly’s face is instantly cooled, hopefully combating the blush creeping its way onto her cheeks.  She tries to give her face a blank look, pretending that she isn’t thinking about all of the ways that Nicole could break her.  She considers, the door to their apartment building swinging closed behind her, what might happened if for just a second she stopped caring about everything her family would say and just flirted back.  
  
“Are you going to?” She asks, “Break me, I mean.”  
  
Waverly glances at Nicole then, catching Nicole’s careful smile in the light from a street lamp as Sebastian leads them around the corner to the building and towards the sidewalk.  Waverly’s gaze lands on Nicole’s mouth and she can’t help herself.  She reaches out and touches Nicole’s shirt sleeve lightly, silently asking her to halt her movements.  They still aren’t even to the sidewalk but Shorty’s is in eye shot, the music bumping loud enough to hear across the street.  
  
Nicole stops slowly, more space between them than Waverly wants, and Nicole looks down at her.  Their height difference seems more prominent, Waverly feeling smaller and more shy than she’s used to.  Nicole puffs out a breath, the air not quite cold enough to catch it and turn it into fog, but she hasn’t managed an answer.  
  
“Are you?” Waverly presses.  
  
“Waves,” Nicole says, humming out the nickname Wynonna has called her for most of her life; Nicole’s smile is easy and warms Waverly.  Waverly watches as Nicole eases a little forward, the tip of Nicole’s boot touching the tip of Waverly’s boot.  She feels Nicole’s fingers touch a shoulder and slide down her entire arm.  She says, “I have a weakness for the pretty ones.  So, let me ask you, are you going to break me?”  
  
Waverly gulps, imagining pushing herself up on her toes and pressing her lips against Nicole’s.  She imagines it so fully, but there’s something missing.  She doesn’t have the courage to fill in the gaps.    
  
Instead, she steps back, Nicole’s hand lingering in the air between them.  Her gaze darts around and her heart stops beating as she sees Wynonna in the alleyway, their eyes connecting.  She flits her eyes back to Nicole and sees her smiling mischievously, like she can read Waverly’s thoughts.    
  
She feels exposed.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Waverly says quickly, “I can’t.  I have to...”  
  
She gestures towards Shorty’s, looking over at Wynonna again.  Her sister is waiting, patiently and encouragingly and non-judgmental, but she can’t do this.  She takes another step back.  
  
“Ok, well, I’ll see you later?” Nicole asks.  
  
“Yeah, I don’t know,” Waverly mutters quickly.  She rushes across the street as though a car is coming directly at her.  When she reaches Wynonna, she glances over her shoulder to see Nicole still watching her.  She shivers involuntarily, looking back at Wynonna and saying, “Hey, Sis.”  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Wynonna Earp is the middle child of Ward Earp and Michelle Gibson.  She’s always been closer to her mother than her father, mostly because she’s always considered herself Waverly’s protector.  She’s done everything to stand between her father’s hateful demeanor towards her little sister.  Most of her life, save for a handful of times, she’s been successful.  
  
But to pretend that she didn’t see her baby sister in a closer than to be expected situation with the appointed enemy.  Now, Wynonna doesn’t much care about this feud with the appointed enemy, not as a person who has ignored the rules (the ones that were definitely made to be broken) and spent a hella awesome week with the enemy in the beautiful country of Greece, but she knows her little sister is a person who stays on the straight and narrow.  
  
Her chilling with Nicole while getting drunk in a foreign country is entirely different than her baby sister in a compromising situation with the woman.    
  
Don’t get her wrong, she likes Haught.  In fact, getting out of the friggin’ town and connecting with the only other person she even did time with at Purgatory High School who had the balls to leave really taught her a few things.  For one, she finally understood the classically stupid phrase _never judge a book by its cover_.    
  
Regardless, she knows her sister.  She knows Waverly has always striven for their parents approval more than she and Willa ever have.  She knows that Waverly wouldn’t ever do anything to jeapordize that.  
  
Not even talk to the enemy.  
  
And Nicole Haught is the enemy.  
  
Again, not that Wynonna cares.  
  
Besides, that was an extremely compromising looking situation in the dark for her having not ever shown an interest in women.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
“Hey, babygirl.  What are you doing with Haught-pants over there?” Wynonna asks, gesturing to where Nicole is looking on the pair.  Lifting an arm to scoop around Waverly’s shoulders, Wynonna steps a little bit closer to wrap protectively around Waverly.  She throws a glare over her shoulder that she’s sure no one ends up seeing.  “She’s not harassing you, is she?”  
  
“Who?  Nicole?” Waverly says.  Wynonna detects her little sister’s voice being a little shaky and she grows a little suspicious of Waverly’s reaction.  Waverly sighs, Wynonna’s arm dipping as Waverly’s shoulders dip.  “She wouldn’t do that.  She’s nice.”  
  
“Mmhmm,” Wynonna hums.  She leads Waverly back into the bar where nearly everyone they’ve ever known is.  Wynonna is supposed to be working tonight.  In fact, she has been at work for hours and is close to getting off shift.  She’s ready to knock a few back.  “Wanna drink with me?”  
  
“I could use a drink,” Waverly replies, muttering an almost inaudible, “Or two.”  
  
Wynonna goes behind the counter and gets a few drinks for them.  They sip on their drinks and hussle some fellas at pool, for probably the 10th time in the last month.  Time flies by and nearly two hours later, Waverly’s eyes are drifting shut.    
  
“Go home, babygirl,” Wynonna says.  She gives Waverly a small smile, curling her arm around her little sister’s shoulders again.  She guides Waverly towards the front door to the bar.  “You need me to walk you home?”  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Waverly sighs tiredly and says, “No.  I’m fine.”  
  
“Ok then,” Wynonna says all too quickly, slapping Waverly on the ass and ushering her forward, “Good night.”  
  
“Oh, ok, good night,” Waverly replies.  She turns to exit the bar, outside feeling even colder than before.  The door doesn’t swing all of the way shut, the sound from inside mixing with outside.  
  
“Waves,” Wynonna says before she can get to the edge of the curb.  Waverly turns to look at her sister, her mind going back to Nicole calling her that.  “I’m always going to have your back, babygirl, no matter what.”  
  
Waverly feels a chill around her.    
  
She wonders what Wynonna saw, what Wynonna knows, not that it seems to matter.  She feels better immediately, knowing that her sister is going to have her back whatever she decides.  Smiling, she surges forward and pulls her sister into a tight hug.  
  
The hug lasts as long as Wynonna will allow, not ever being one for long hugs.  Waverly has always viewed Wynonna as a source of comfort.  She used to sneak into Wynonna’s room and her older sister would hold her all night.  Public displays of affection are less Wynonna’s thing.  
  
“Go on,” Wynonna says, encouraging Waverly out of her arms, “I’ll make sure you make it home safe.”  
  
“Thanks, Nonna,” she mutters.    
  
Crossing the street carefully, she can feel Wynonna’s eyes on her.  She only ended up drinking one beer and doesn’t really feel any effects from it.  Once she makes it across the street, she stops under the street light and waves over at Wynonna.  Wynonna rolls her eyes and waves back.  
  
Heading into the building, Waverly makes a decision.    
  
She takes the stairs to the left of the door and climbs them, each stop soft and careful.  Once she reaches the top she steadies herself, sucking in a deep breath.  She knocks on the door, the sound reverberating throughout the empty space.    
  
Waverly spent the better part of two hours thinking about her situation, how she feels attracted to Nicole and how she wants to kiss her.  Normally, she would be free to test the waters with whoever she wants.  Except with Nicole, she’s painting a target on her back.  
  
The door opens fully, Sebastian sticking his face through the door.  Nicole looks like she was sleeping, hair slightly disheveled.  She has on a pair of grey sweatpants and a black tank top that Waverly finds absolutely adorable.  
  
Nicole rubs at her eyes as though they are deceiving her and says, “Waverly?”  
  
“I’ve been thinking,” she starts.  
  
“Yeah,” Nicole breathes.  Waverly watches as Nicole blinks rapidly and hugs herself, possibly for warmth.  Nicole looks like she wants to smile but she isn’t.  “You’ve been thinking?”  
  
“That I might be,” Waverly tests the words out, the word sticking on her tongue.  She adds silently, Gay.  
  
“Yeah?” Nicole encourages, dropping her arms again to rub at her eyes.  The muscles in her arms flex with the movement.  She looks confused and...cute.    
  
Waverly releases an annoyed breath, mad at herself for not mustering the courage to just say it.  
  
She decides, _now or never_.  
  
She pushes up onto her toes, hands coming up to Nicole’s collar bones to help her balance herself.  She almost backs out when Nicole’s hand circles one of her arms, head tilted down and watching Waverly.  She inches even more up onto her toes, her nose lightly brushing against Nicole’s.  
  
She lingers at 90% of the way, wanting Nicole to close the distance.  Finally, she feels Nicole’s other hand come up to her waist, fingers sliding around to the small of her back.  When their lips finally touch, Nicole’s are soft and warm.  
  
It’s nothing like she’s ever felt before.    
  
It feels gentle and kind.    
  
It feels like sunshine and rainbows.  
  
It feels like everything.  
  
The kiss doesn’t deepen despite Waverly perhaps wishing Nicole would, but it stays life changing for Waverly.  She had never realized that the something missing in all of her romantic relationships was this.  Nicole loosens her grasp and a sigh falls out of Waverly’s mouth as she lowers her heels back to the ground.    
  
When Waverly pulls away, her hands sliding over Nicole’s shoulders, she looks away all too quickly.  She doesn’t connect their gazes and she’s really afraid to look at Nicole.  Sebastian, however, has retreated back into the apartment paying no attention to them.  
  
“So, uh,” Waverly mutters, nerves jumping every which way, “I’m not going to break you.”  
  
“Huh,” Nicole says.  A grin meets Nicole’s features as she leans against the doorframe.  She crosses her arms across across her chest.  Waverly hates how attractive the smugness is on her.  “So you are interested?”  
  
“You’re interesting,” Waverly replies with a shrug.  She smiles as she steps back, putting a little distance between them.  She looks up at Nicole through her eyelashes.  She says, “So, good night, Nicole Haught.”  
  
“Good night, Waverly Earp,” Nicole says, voice sleep laden.  
  
Waverly makes her way over to her apartment, aware of Nicole watching her the entire time.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Waverly goes to sleep with a stupid smile on her face.


	3. even that was an understatement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole comes to the harsh reality of why she's really been called home.

The truck Nicole’s grandfather gifted to her roars loudly.  It’s a simple Chevy Silverado, blue in color but pristine in paint, much newer than what Nicole wanted in the first place.  She originally wanted something classic and cheap and reliable, but her grandfather doesn’t do anything halfway.

 

When she arrived in town a week ago, she didn’t have time to go visit her grandfather before her mother whisked him away to the city for poking and prodding.  Nicole was initially broken up about it because her grandfather is maybe her favorite person in the entire world, but she understood.  Her journey had been called home because of this situation.

 

If she were being honest with herself, she would have to admit that her grandfather is becoming an old man.  As he approaches the age of 77, he was bound to become a bit more fragile, but she wasn’t quite ready yet.  Not for this.

 

They had initially agreed that when she hit 28 she was to return home and start training to take over the business.  When she got the call from her mother, 3 years too soon, she had been devastated but booked the first flight home.  Well, home being where she stored her truck and the rest of her personal belongings in a storage in the city.  Little does her family know that amidst all of her traveling and life experiences she spent a year just 75 miles away from them in the city, living with a girl who she, for a brief moment, considered marrying.

 

It isn’t that she was head over heels in love.  She was fond of the girl, but she didn’t even have romantic feelings for her.  In fact, her and Shae had been best friends and when Shae found herself in a particularly fun financial situation regarding college, Nicole had tried to force the feelings there and attempted to fix the situation.  At the end of it all, they had simply been roommates and never actually crossed the line fully.

 

They had their obvious, mutual affection for each other.  They went on dates with friends, were a beautiful couple, especially considering Nicole had instantly known that Shae was a complete babe, but they weren’t meant to be.  They shared a bed most nights (except the nights that Shae stayed with a friend from medical school to study for tests and Nicole excused herself to the national parks nearby to go camping in the woods, alone), but they never actually slept together.

 

Now they’re just friends, maybe even best friends.

 

As Nicole’s grandfather’s house comes into view, she feels excited about the prospect of seeing him again, and maybe she misses Sebastian a little bit, too.  Her mother came by to pick the Dalmatian up really early in the morning to take him to her grandfather’s so Sebastian could spend time with his owner.  Her mother also insisted that he needed rest and to let him sleep for the entire day before coming by on Sunday to pick up Sebastian.

 

Not wanting to argue, she accepted the orders like she was still a child.

 

She slows the truck as the tires roll across gravel, her mother’s SUV mixed in with an array of her grandfather’s vehicle.  He has a fancy white T top Z-28 that Nicole has envied since she was a kid and it still looks absolutely fabulous as the bright sunlight gleams off of it.  He also has a more practical pink Cadillac that once belonged to her grandmother who passed long before she was even able to create memories.  But the Cadillac mostly collects dust while he drives a common Ford F-250 around the ranch.

 

The coffee shop had been her mother’s baby and Nicole remembers her burying herself into the place when her dad was killed.  He had to be noble and join the special forces during the Iraqi War, a decision that had deeply frustrated her mother.  It wasn’t more than a year after her dad died that her mother had rebounded to Xavier’s dad but ultimately decided to keep her maiden name, Clootie.

 

Nicole parks the truck and shuts the howling beast off, the truck shaking as it dies down.

 

If she were to admit it, Nicole loves gaudy things but she knows she doesn’t need them.  The truck was a little bit outside of her desired wheelhouse, but it was her grandfather’s attempt to make her as independent as possible.  She really only drives the truck to come out to his ranch anyway, but if she needed to do any sort of hauling she could.  It just isn’t what she’s used to seeing on her excursions.

 

During her time spent abroad she was more likely to see small and practical rather than bulky.

 

Her grandfather’s house is a quite large one story home, built in a square with a swimming pool at the center of the building.  Nicole remembers thinking that the house was modest when she discovered that her grandfather was considering one of the wealthiest people in town.  The house doesn’t even come close to matching the size of mansions depicted on televisions.

 

Heading inside without bothering to knock, she’s immediately greeted by Sebastian who acts as though he hasn’t seen her for weeks despite the fact that he was with her just yesterday.  She suspects that he might be getting attached to her company, which worries her slightly given that he’s her grandfather’s companion.  Nevertheless, she gives him the same amount of excitement that he gives her in return.

 

“Nicky,” a rough voice says.

 

Her attention is interrupted and she looks up, biting back a cringe at the use of the nickname she hates so much.  She feels her eyes begin to water at the sight before her.  Her grandfather looks older, meeker than before, and her heart wants to break.  When her mother called her to tell her that he was sick, Nicole didn’t hesitate to get on the first flight, but she didn’t understand just how bad he was.  She thought that they had caught it early, but he looks almost frail which is tough for her to see because he’s always been strong and capable.

 

“Grandpa,” she replies, a watery smile meeting her mouth.  She gently pushes Sebastian aside to cross the living room and hug her grandfather.  He’s always been slightly taller than her but he isn’t standing as tall.  He does, however, welcome her with open arms.  “You look great.”

 

“You’ve always been a terrible liar,” he comments.  He seems tired, not squeezing her as tightly as he normally does.  She doesn’t blame him.  She’s sure he’s tired from all of the chemo.  He takes a seat on the massive sofa he has pointed at a television that’s always reflecting the sunlight.  “You’re looking great though.”

 

“I feel good,” she says sweetly.  She actually feels terrible.  Terrible that her grandfather is sick.  Terrible that she doesn’t know how to run the coffee shop properly.  Terrible that Waverly Earp knocked on her door at midnight on Friday night / Saturday morning and she hasn’t seen her since.

 

They get into a conversation about his health that stays the topic for just long enough before Sebastian completely settles on the couch between them.  His settling stirs the subject of his likes and dislikes, some of which Nicole has been picking up on.  She does need to dedicate more time to exercising him.  She makes a silent vow to wake up earlier than normal tomorrow and take him for a run.

 

The conversation easily drifts to her travels.  He wants to know everything but Nicole can see that he’s increasingly becoming more and more tired as the conversation flows.  Nicole feels quite sad about this because she feels like she hasn’t seen him in so long and now reality is punching her in the gut; her grandfather doesn’t have long.

 

Even then, she buries it.

 

She doesn’t ask any of the questions she wants to ask and she doesn’t allow herself to think about the reality of the situation.  She doesn’t think about Waverly.  She doesn’t think about how weak she feels, not until her and Sebastian climb into the truck when the sun is setting and after their family has had dinner and Sebastian rests his head on her lap instead of looking out of the window.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Far, far away from 9th and Main stands a home.  This home raised 3 beautiful girls until it didn’t, until it became the place where love died and two people decided they were better off apart.  Surrounding this home, duly marked Earp Ranch on a wooden beam attached to two 4x4 pieces of wood concreted into the ground, is an endless amount of land.

 

There is a pond that freezes over when the temperature gets just right.  A pond that is remembered both fondly and fearfully.  This pond is a place that brings both heart ache and joy to anyone who has spent any amount of time on the land.

 

It all began with Wyatt Earp settling in Purgatory.  He claimed in his journal that the pond was there naturally and that’s what made him build on the land.  Or so he says.

 

Regardless of Wyatt’s reasoning to settle on the land in the first place, the pond has become a pinnacle of family memories. Each story has been passed down through the generations and remembered fondly by each person with the privilege to be recounted them.

 

The pond isn’t the only thing on the land.  There is a home, rather small and more considered to be a historic site than anything else, but the family doesn’t live in it anymore.  Actually, the great-great-grandson of Wyatt’s best friend Doc Holliday lives there now with his wife, Kate.

 

Ward Earp lives in a two story home at the center of the land.  He lives there alone, probably drinking himself to sleep since his eldest (and favorite) daughter, Willa, moved out to live with her fiancé Robert Svane.  Her fiancé is a local lawyer, mostly dealing in whatever legal matters he can get his hands on.

 

Every once in awhile, Wynonna will go to the Earp Ranch and offer her supervisor capabilities.  If she’s really feeling fun she brings her boyfriend-not-boyfriend Charlie along to really torture Ward.  The thing she loves to torture him with the most is that Charlie is a firefighter, and he’s also willing to participate in her kinky banter to make everyone else on the room uncomfortable too.

 

When Ward and Michelle got divorced Willa chose to live with their father.  Wynonna and Waverly lived with Michelle and, subsequently, Gus and Curtis.  When Michelle decided to move in with her boyfriend Julian, Wynonna was already 18 and begging to move into the apartment above Shorty’s so she could do whatever lawless thing she wanted.  She spent some time breaking all sorts of rules while riding with the Banditos but she came back.

 

Waverly, on the other hand, didn’t spend much time with her father after her parents divorced.

 

She didn’t go visit him and Willa on weekends, she went to visit Gus and Curtis.  Ward never complained about it, and Willa certainly hadn’t.  In fact, Ward had only shown up for the things regarding Waverly that offered him bragging rights.

 

Even then, Waverly had Curtis as well as Julian.  Julian wasn’t her dad but he was always there for her when she needed a dad.  Well, him and Curtis.  Despite, they both treated her right and always encouraged her to follow her dreams.

 

It was her time spent with Gus, Curtis and her mother that got Waverly into baking.

 

Although her Uncle Curtis, who partially owned Shorty’s, paid for her classes at the university.  She doesn’t quite know what she wants to do with her studies especially because it would greatly benefit her to take more business classes, but she’s always been fascinated by languages.  He made sure to leave her enough in a trust fund to finish her classes.

 

All of the time spent with the Gibsons and away from Ward Earp has left Waverly more content with the bakery.  She’s been learning about treats for as long as she can remember.  Baking is just one thing on the list of things she’s good at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One thing she isn’t good at: deciding that Nicole Haught is someone she’s actually going to stay away from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waverly met Nicole 1 week ago.  Well, nearly, if she were to count the hours and minutes and seconds, but she doesn’t want to feel that desperate.  Besides, she’s never been a person who focuses on things like that.

 

At least not when it came to dating.  Mostly because she dated Champ who was completely unreliable when it came to remembering anything at all about her, but also a little bit because she just wasn’t as into him as she wanted to be.  Looking back, she was never that into Champ, but he was logically her best choice.

 

She broke up with him almost a year ago because he kept cheating on her and everyone was talking about it, but Wynonna wasn’t having it anymore.  When Champ started to trash talk her older sister, Waverly broke up with him.  It was a difficult situation because she was afraid no one else would be interested in an Earp, but she decided to bite the bullet.  Since then, she’s discovered that being alone is better than being with him.

 

Not to say that she hasn’t wanted a companion.

 

Thankfully, whenever she’s feeling lonely she gets to hang out with Wynonna or even her best friend Chrissy.

 

However, she has felt confused since meeting Nicole.  She’s felt things she doesn’t entirely understand and hasn’t been able to talk to anyone about it.  She hasn’t quite had the courage to talk to even Nicole about it.  If she’s being honest, Waverly has been lucky that she’s been able to avoid Nicole for a full day after the embarrassment of knocking on her neighbor’s door, just a little tipsy, and kissing her, the object of Waverly’s affection.

 

Her ability to avoid Nicole has actually been quite astonishing given they are neighbors in both work and home.  Luckily for her, _Gibson’s Goodies_ is closed on Sundays and she usually escapes to her Aunt Gus’s house where she hangs out with Wynonna, her mom, Julian and her Aunt Gus.  It’s a standing date they have every week, until Wynonna has to go to Shorty’s for a shift in the days that she does work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s just Waverly’s luck that when she returns home, Nicole is also returning home with Sebastian following close behind on his leash.

 

For a moment, Waverly considers not even paying any attention to the pair and just sitting in her car for an undefined amount of time until she’s certain that they won’t cross paths.  But she decides not to do that because she definitely doesn’t want Nicole to think she’s avoiding her.  Not to mention that she’s 100% sure that Nicole saw her headlights pulling into the lot behind the building and Waverly just can’t take the idea that anyone, let alone Nicole, think less of her.

 

With a heavy hearted sigh, Waverly gets out of her Jeep and begins to head inside.  She walks a little slower hoping that by the time she gets into the entryway where the stairs for their respective apartments are that Nicole and Sebastian will be inside.  That isn’t the case, however, and Waverly silently curses at the universe for making her face her drunken decisions.

 

Painting on a smile, she opens the door to the entryway and comes face to face with Nicole.  Waverly doesn’t know Nicole very well, but she does know that it must be something big if Nicole doesn’t manage a smile in return.  She immediately feels guilty even thinking about ignoring Nicole.

 

“Hi,” Waverly says, the door closing hard behind her.  Nicole, midway up her stairs, stops and slowly looks over at her.  Waverly watches perhaps a little too intently as Nicole’s whole body moves, muscles flexing and hair flowing.  When she catches a glimpse of Nicole’s face, Waverly nearly gasps aloud.

 

She’s distracted from saying anything by Sebastian erupting into an excited whine and tail wagging so wildly that it beats Nicole’s thigh.

 

“Oh,” Nicole says almost too softly, “Hey, Waves.”

 

“Are you okay?” Waverly musters, missing the vibrant and mischievous look that’s usually on Nicole’s face.

 

“Well,” Nicole says, sigh escaping her.  Nicole moves down the stairs, letting Sebastian pull her more easily.  He sits directly in front of Waverly but can’t quite sit still.  “I...”

 

Nicole trails off and that makes Waverly ignore Sebastian all together.  She steps closer and tries to meet Nicole’s gaze.  Nicole won’t look at her, and it kind of makes Waverly’s heart ache.

 

She surprises herself by lifting her hand and pressing her fingers against Nicole’s chin.  Tilting Nicole’s chin upward, Nicole’s hair moving out of her face, Waverly looks over her face.  Finally, Nicole looks at her and almost immediately breaks into tears.

 

It’s tough, watching a strong woman like Nicole cry.  Waverly has never been very good at watching others cry anyway but Nicole who, even though they’ve only known each other for a week, is always a breath of fresh air is extremely difficult.

 

Nicole’s tears fall over the brink, sliding down her cheeks.  Waverly gives her a once over, not quite yet sure how to respond.  Nicole’s arms are limp and her whole body seems heavy.

 

Waverly takes a step closer, close enough that she can feel the warmth that Nicole’s body gives off.  Her hand moves to Nicole’s collarbone as Waverly begins to push at Nicole’s shoulder.  Without even an evidence of embarrassment, Nicole leans heavily against Waverly and Waverly instinctively responds.  She pushes both arms around Nicole as she cries, the height difference only making this slightly awkward.

 

The smallness of Nicole doesn’t really last long before she’s sniffling and standing upright.  She says, “I’m sorry.”

 

“Don’t be sorry,” Waverly quickly replies, hands now flat against Nicole’s ribs.

 

“He’s dying,” Nicole says, suddenly, like their old friends, “Like, I knew he was sick, but this is something else.”

 

“You saw him,” Waverly realizes.

 

She has seen Bulshar Clootie around town, of course she has.  She has always appreciated the way that he smiles and waves at her despite the fact that their families have been at war since before either of them existed.  They haven’t much spoken, but she has been polite with him over the years.  She’s absolutely seen the way he’s been fading, the sickness taking over him slowly but surely.

 

“I hadn’t seen him yet,” Nicole admits.

 

She sighs heavily, Waverly watching her entire body rack with the expel of her breath.  Nicole looks like she’s been holding this all in and she just needs to get it out.  Sebastian, Waverly suddenly takes note, is actually ignoring that Waverly is even present and has all of his attention on Nicole.  He ducks his head beneath her hand, Nicole’s fingers resting on his head.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“And I didn’t,” Nicole says, voice catching in her throat, “He’s just not the same as the last time I saw him.”

 

“I’m sorry, Nicole,” Waverly mutters.

 

Nicole doesn’t hear it, that pity that she’s expecting.  It makes her feel guilty and a little too exposed.  Especially when Waverly looks away from her and casts her eyes down at the floor.

 

“It isn’t your fault,” Nicole says quickly.  She looks behind her shoulder at her front door and turns back to Waverly, offering her a smile.  She gestures towards the door then and says, “I, um, I have to go.  I’ll see you later.”

 

“Oh, right,” Waverly says.  Nicole knows that she sees rejection on Waverly’s face, but Waverly tries to cover that up with a smile.  Waverly removes her hands from Nicole’s vicinity and Nicole feels every second of it. It feels bad.  “Yeah, I’ll see you...around.”

 

Nicole feels all of the energy leave her body and she leads Sebastian upstairs where she passes out until she has to get up before work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicole gives Jeremy one firm nod as she picks up the coffee filled cup from the counter.  The cup is one of those cardboard-y insulated cups for to go orders and steam trails out of the opening in the lid.  Jeremy gives her a quick wave as if to say he has everything under control and she heads for the back door.  She closes and locks it behind her so that no one can enter or exit to the living quarters area.

 

She checks her watch for the time, relieved that it’s 8am and the store doesn’t open for a couple more hours.  She steadies her nerves.  Raising her fist to knock on the door, she thinks about all of the things she wants to say.

 

_Thank you for being so nice to me yesterday._

_Thank you for being there._

_I’m sorry I unloaded on you._

_Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?_

 

She knocks on the back door to the _Gibson’s Goodies_ , fairly certain that she had heard a rattling at the door 5-10 minutes ago.

 

She holds the cup tightly in her right hand and taps at her left thigh with her free hand.  She doesn’t know how this is going to go over. She thoroughly embarrassed herself last night, that much she’s aware.  She ticks away the seconds as she waits for someone to answer the door, but time seems to stop as she waits.

 

She sighs, guessing that she had heard incorrectly, and turns away from the door.

 

“Nicole,” Waverly’s voice echoes throughout the corridor.  She stops dead in her tracks and turns around, coffee steam following her as she catches a glimpse of Waverly.  She gulps at the sight before, Waverly in a dress where the front dips below an apron.  On the apron there’s an assortment of colors smeared across it but mostly white.  “Hey!  Are you...”

 

“Yes,” Nicole interjects, “Much.  Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Waverly murmurs.  She’s leaning against the door frame, the sweetest smile on her face.

 

“I brought you a coffee,” Nicole says, stepping forward and extended the cup, “As a thank you for last night.”

 

“You don’t have to thank me,” Waverly says with a small laugh.   _That’s adorable_.

 

“Well,” Nicole says, humming just a bit.  She steps closer, an army green colored button up shirt with the sleeves rolled to just about her elbows extending the cup even further.  Waverly is just about close enough that Nicole can touch her.  “To be honest, I’m a little embarrassed.”

 

“Oh,” Waverly says, pouting slightly, “Don’t be embarrassed, Nicole.  It’s...you’re going through a lot.”

 

“Still,” she says.  She offers Waverly a smile, one that she hopes portrays a more flirtatious manner since before she ended up crying in front of Waverly, Waverly had knocked on her door and kissed her.  Nervously, she tucks some hair behind her ear and says, “Please just accept the coffee.”

 

“I will on one condition,” Waverly replies.  She watches as Waverly slowly extends her hand and lets it hover near the cup of coffee.  Nicole can only swallow and nod in response.  “Come in and try this new recipe.”

 

“Ok,” she squeaks out, surprise rendering her absolutely useless.  Waverly’s fingers touch her own when she finally accepts the coffee.  She nearly forgets to breathe as she watches Waverly’s lips press against the cup for a big drink.

 

“This is good,” Waverly comments once swallowing.

 

Nicole can’t help smirking at the progress she’s making in quality beverages.  Nicole steps inside and Waverly closes the door behind them.  Taking a look around, Nicole notes that they’re standing in a kitchen with mostly baking equipment spread throughout.  There are 4 ovens and a lot of counter space.  It looks well used at the moment with a fan blowing in the corner.

 

“Looks like you’ve been busy,” Nicole says.

 

“Like I said, testing out some new recipes,” Waverly replies.  She sets her drink down on the counter and stretches out for a cupcake.  It looks to be a chocolate flavor with a topping that Nicole can’t tell just by looking at it.  “Taste it.”

 

“Ok,” Nicole complies.

 

Waverly lifts the cupcake towards Nicole’s mouth.  She feels her nerves flaring up again, the fact that she’s pretty sure Waverly is holding it up for her to take a bite.  It all feels very intimate and she suspects that Waverly is mostly just taking pity on her.  Despite this feeling, Nicole leans forward and sinks her teeth into the cupcake.  She’s still chewing when the flavor bursts across her tongue and all she can do is nod.

 

“So good,” Nicole says, food still in her mouth, “What is it?”

 

“Just a vegan recipe I wanted to try,” Waverly admits, “No one in this town will go for it.”

 

She swallows, “They don’t know what they’re missing.”

 

“Yeah, well,” Waverly says, voice sounding suddenly sad, “People just get stuck in their ways and are afraid to try new things.”

 

This strikes something inside of Nicole, realizing the undermining meaning in Waverly’s own words.  She briefly wonders if Waverly knows that she’s alluding to herself, to the way that Waverly had kissed Nicole.  Was it Waverly trying something new just to see what it was like?

 

Waverly sets the cupcake back down on the metal, rectangle plate that she has an array of freshly baked treats.  Nicole watches this movement while contemplating broaching the subject.  Instead, she decides she should let Waverly take the lead on the specifics.

 

“New things aren’t always bad,” Nicole muses.

 

She offers Waverly a small smile at that, hoping to reassure her that she is absolutely still interested.  Waverly wipes her hands off on her apron before removing the material, resting it on the counter next to her cup of coffee.  She then rubs her hands together like she’s attempting to get any residual cupcake off of her hands.  Waverly smiles at that, eyes crinkling at the sides in the most adorable manner that Nicole forgets anything else she’s been thinking she could say.

 

“No, I don’t think they are,” Waverly says.  Nicole watches as she steps a little forward, much closer to Nicole know.  She feels every inch of Waverly on her skin, her whole body aware of where Waverly is and wishing she could at least bring the kiss up to let Waverly know she’s thinking about it.  “But maybe that’s just me trying to make people want what I want.”

 

“Are we still talking about the vegan cupcake?”

 

Waverly shakes her head softly and looks up at Nicole through her lashes.  Nicole’s legs really turn to jelly but she manages to stay upright.  Waverly says, “I shouldn’t have kissed you.  I knew your grandfather wasn’t - isn’t well and you have a lot going on right now.”

 

“Waverly, I can have more than one feeling at a time,” Nicole replies, “I can be sad about him being sick and still like you.”

 

“You like me?” Waverly says like she’s surprised by the admission.

 

“I do,” Nicole confirms, face abandoning any bit of smugness.

 

“Yesterday,” Waverly starts, looking away from Nicole again, “You shut me out.”

 

“I don’t want to scare you off,” Nicole says.  Waverly’s gaze snaps up to Nicole’s.  They stare at each other hard like there’s some kind of contest to back down, but Nicole’s only in it because she can’t look away from Waverly’s big, beautiful eyes.  She says, “I just want to try something.”

 

Stepping forward, she lifts her hands to either side of Waverly’s face.  She cradles Waverly’s head, long fingers hugging Waverly’s sharp jawline and thumbs carefully sweeping over glorious cheekbones.  She inches forward, slowly and poignantly, ready to leave her mark.

 

She expertly places her lips on Waverly’s, the feeling fresh in her mind from a few nights ago.  Waverly’s lips are soft but there’s a lingering taste of the coffee.  Waverly’s breath is warm against her mouth and it’s that feeling that encourages her to part her lips.  She does it, Nicole edges forward and slips her tongue out to run along Waverly’s slightly parted lips.  She feels her shirt bunch just above her hip as Waverly seems to latch on, pulling her closer just enough that Nicole knows what she’s trying is working.

 

Slowly, she pulls back.  Waverly chases her lips and immediately laughs at herself.  The laugh catches between them and Nicole loves the way it sounds; it seems to heal something inside of her.  Nicole can’t feel anything other than happy.  She drops one hand while lifting the other to tuck Waverly’s hair behind her ear.  Her right fingers circle Waverly’s left wrist, Waverly’s hand bunching Nicole’s shirt in a tight fist.

 

“Not bad, huh?” She asks, dipping a bit to look into Waverly’s eyes.

 

“Yeah,” Waverly confirms, voice floating in the air, “Not bad.”

 

“Come to my apartment tonight to watch a movie. What do you say?”

 

“I say,” Waverly hums, “Yes. But pick something romcom.”

“Romcom-y,” Nicole repeats, “Got it.”

 

And with that, Nicole is off. Just in the nick of time because she hears the front door jingle. She can’t help looking back at Waverly though, drinking in that smiling face.


End file.
